So let's say someone has telekinetic powers. He can move a bunch of things at once with his mind as long as the objects aren't too heavy.

One day he's walking through a dark secluded alleyway and, oh no, he gets shot, and even worst the bullet hits a major artery. After snapping his assailant's neck with his mind, he falls to the ground. He's now in a puddle of his own blood still bleeding profusely. Within minutes he'll almost certainly be dead. Unless...

Suddenly our fellow has a bright idea, he could use his telekineses to prevent the blood from leaving his body, right? Moreover, could he not draw the blood that he's already lost, back inside of him? Kind of a self-transfusion sort of deal. He might potentially be able to do so and just get back up. Walk over to a hospital on his own two legs after having sustained an extremely severe gunshot wound, keeping his vital fluid within him by sheer force of will, now wouldn't that be a sight.

Could this actually work? Is there something I'm missing?

A few notes:

Firstly, the ground is obviously not sterile and so neither is the blood that's in contact with it, would this be an issue?

Next, this telekinetic can only use his powers while he is conscious, would the shock of losing so much blood so quickly, or perhaps the pain of being shot cause him to fall unconscious before he has time to reach a hospital?

$\begingroup$Can't put the blood back in. It will give him a blood infection. He can stop the bleeding. Put pressure on the wound, or pinch closed the artery that is bleeding. And most importantly, call the ambulance.$\endgroup$
– Bald BearAug 16 '18 at 21:56

$\begingroup$@Alexander Oh I'm not trying to figure out if my character can actually heal themselves. The wound would remain as it is, just the blood that pours out would be continuously "shoved" back in.$\endgroup$
– AngelPrayAug 16 '18 at 21:56

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$\begingroup$It all depends on level of control. Crude control - can only put pressure on top of the wound. Finer control - can keep the ruptured artery together without ever seeing it. Finest control - can collect his blood from the ground, filtering out all trash and bacteria in the process.$\endgroup$
– AlexanderAug 16 '18 at 22:02

No, the blood on the floor should not be put back in his body. The blood is now full of bacteria. unless he had mastered his telekinetik habilities to the point he can kill individual microbes without damaging the red cells in the spilled blood.

And yes, it could be possible for him to close the wound. BUT he will need to mantain the concentration all the way to the hospital, because although he is supporting the hole with his mind, the wound is not healed yet, and if he looses concentration, the hole will open again because the platelets have not finished working yet.

If he was shot in a vital organ, he may need to extract the bullet first and perform a deeper telekinesis healing process (not only in the blood vessels, also in the organs) but if the shot was in the hearth, he may not have time for that (he will die).

If he manages to arrive to the hospital without loosing more than 35% of his blood, in the hospital they will "refill" him and will eventually be ok. If he looses the concentration at any point in the way and starts dripping additional blood, then at some point he will enter in a shock state, will loose the concentration and die.

$\begingroup$agreed, don't pull back his lost blood, introducing bacteria or unknown chemicals into the bloodstream could cause sepsis, which can potentially result in organ failure or death$\endgroup$
– BKlassenAug 16 '18 at 22:40

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$\begingroup$But, the psychological potential of a panic moment could be interesting too... where the character puts the blood back in and regrets it as they try to get to the hospital, trying to hold concentration as they fight a fever.$\endgroup$
– SEK1977Aug 17 '18 at 0:18

It seems he is unlikely to faint unless he loses too much blood, or so forensic scientists say. Luckily the body is good at staying alive, so it has several self defense mechanisms to protect itself from system failure. I would personally apply telekinetic pressure as tourniquet, stopping blood flow to the injury. The bodies natural reaction to the blood loss will keep his body functioning and although the pain will be hard to push through, he'd possibly make it to a hospital if not to far away. Stuffing blood back into his veins seems unlikely to work and not that important if it did.

If he stays conscious and doesn't go crazy from the pain he's most certainly capable of keeping his wound closed. I wouldn't attract the blood unless you assume you'll lose consciousness and bleed to death, as an infection is guaranteed and if you accidentally scoop up dirt and push that your veins you are in massive trouble.

That said, he's likely going to be in shock and even if he gets the idea, he's likely not going to have the precision to do anything more than clamp down on his arteries and hope he clamps hard enough/not so hard he does more damage to himself. Gunshots Hurt, and bleeding heavily is extremely unpleasant and terrifying.

$\begingroup$Human's started performing surgery centuries before the first anesthetic was invented, and people have even been known to self operate in order to save their own life. You underestimate a human's ability to function under duress.$\endgroup$
– Clay DeitasAug 16 '18 at 22:27

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$\begingroup$@Clay Deitas you overestimate the average human's capability under duress. Yes there are stories about humans who did great things in such circumstances, but the whole reason those stories are special and told is because it's exceptional.$\endgroup$
– DemiganAug 16 '18 at 22:31

I agree with the idea of using the powers to keep body in the body or by clamping arteries, and not attempting to reuse blood on the ground. Even with IV antibiotics and filtering equipment, it's likely to trade a quick death for a slow one.

Perhaps he could also use his powers to bring items to him in the alley that would allow him to slow the bleeding in more conventual ways (though he might not be able to locate them easily). Like surgical clamps or even locking pliers or binder clips. Pressure bandages. Or he could grab a pen or chalk from afar and write a message to someone to come help.